Das Imperfecto (Verlaufs- und Gewohnheitsvergangenheit)

The imperfect is the tense of memories, descriptions and habits. It does not ask when something ended; it shows what things were like while they lasted. English spreads this job over "used to", "would", "was ...-ing" and the plain past, so there is no single English form to translate from.

Notice that yo and él share a form (hablaba), so Spanish keeps the pronoun more often here than in other tenses when the context is unclear: Yo trabajaba y él estudiaba. Stem changes from the present vanish: quería, podía, dormía.

Three irregular verbs, and that is all

Every other verb in the language, including tener, hacer and estar, is regular in the imperfect: tenía, hacía, estaba.

What it is for

1. Past habits - English "used to" or "would": De niño veía los dibujos mientras mi madre planchaba. - As a child I used to watch cartoons while my mother did the ironing. Cada verano íbamos a la playa de Gandía.
2. Description of people, places and situations: El piso era pequeño y olía a café. - The flat was small and smelt of coffee.
3. Age, time and weather in the past: Eran las nueve y llovía. Tenía doce años.
4. Two things going on at once: Mientras yo cocinaba, mi hermano ponía la mesa.
5. Politeness: Quería un café con leche, por favor. - I'd like a white coffee. The imperfect softens a request, much as English says "I was wondering...".

Words that tend to travel with it: antes (in the past), siempre, todos los días, normalmente, mientras, cuando era pequeño, cada verano, de joven.

Where English speakers slip

• Using the preterite for every past sentence because English "I lived" covers both. Vivía en Valencia sets the scene; Viví en Valencia tres años reports a closed period. The next topic is about that choice.
• Translating "used to" with usar. Spanish uses the imperfect itself, or solía + infinitive: Solía correr por el Retiro.
• Dropping the written accents: hablábamos, éramos, íbamos, and every -er/-ir form (comía, vivían).